Historical Dictionary of Ancient Egypt (Historical Dictionaries of

489 Pages·2009·3.99 MB·English

by  Morris L. Bierbrier

BIERBRIER
Africa • History
of
HISTORICAL DICTIONARY
Historical Dictionaries of Ancient Civilizations and Historical Eras, No. 22
ANCIENT
EGYPT
Th e great pyramids of Giza, Tutankhamun, the Great Sphinx, A
Cleopatra, and Ramesses II—the names and achievements of ancient
N
Egypt are legendary. Ancient Egyptian civilization, situated along
the Nile River, began around 3150 BC and was ruled by pharaohs C H
I Second Edition
for three millennia until it was conquered by Rome in 31 BC. Th is S
T
I
second edition of Historical Dictionary of Ancient Egypt expands O
E
S R
upon the fi rst edition through a chronology, an introductory essay,
e I
c C
appendixes, a bibliography, and cross-referenced dictionary entries oN A
n
L
on Egyptian rulers, bureaucrats, and commoners whose records d
D
T
E
have survived, as well as ancient society, religion, and gods. I
d C
i
t T
Morris L. Bierbrier was assistant keeper in the Department of ioE IO
n
N
Egyptian Antiquities, British Museum, London, for 25 years before G
A
his retirement. He is a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries. R
Y
Y

o
f

P
T
For orders and information please contact the publisher
Scarecrow Press, Inc.
ISBN-13: 978-0-8108-5794-0
A wholly owned subsidiary of
ISBN-10: 0-8108-5794-4
The Rowman & Littlefi eld Publishing Group, Inc.
4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200
Lanham, Maryland 20706
1-800-462-6420 • fax [phone] Morris L. Bierbrier
www.scarecrowpress.com Cover design by Devin Watson
HHDDAAnncciieennttEEggyyppttOOFFFFLLIITTHH..iinndddd 11 77//1100//0088 99::2288::0055 AAMM
Historical Dictionaries of Ancient Civilizations
and Historical Eras
Series editor: Jon Woronoff
1. Ancient Egypt, Morris L. Bierbrier, 1999. Out of Print. See No. 22.
2. Ancient Mesoamerica,Joel W. Palka, 2000.
3. Pre-Colonial Africa, Robert O. Collins, 2001.
4. Byzantium, John H. Rosser, 2001.
5. Medieval Russia,Lawrence N. Langer, 2001.
6. Napoleonic Era, George F. Nafziger, 2001.
7. Ottoman Empire,Selcuk Aksin Somel, 2003.
8. Mongol World Empire,Paul D. Buell, 2003.
9. Mesopotamia,Gwendolyn Leick, 2003.
10. Ancient and Medieval Nubia,Richard A. Lobban Jr., 2003.
11. The Vikings, Katherine Holman, 2003.
12. The Renaissance, Charles G. Nauert, 2004.
13. Ancient Israel, Niels Peter Lemche, 2004.
14. The Hittites, Charles Burney, 2004.
15. Early North America, Cameron B. Wesson, 2005.
16. The Enlightenment,by Harvey Chisick, 2005.
17. Cultural Revolution, by Guo Jian, Yongyi Song, and Yuan Zhou,
2006.
18. Ancient Southeast Asia,by John N. Miksic, 2007.
19. Medieval China,by Victor Cunrui Xiong, 2008.
20. Medieval India,by Iqtidar Alam Khan, 2008.
21. Ancient South America, by Martin Giesso, 2008.
22. Egypt,2nd Ed.,Morris L. Bierbrier, 2008.

Historical Dictionary
of Ancient Egypt
Second Edition
Morris L. Bierbrier
Historical Dictionaries of Ancient
Civilizations and Historical Eras, No. 22
The Scarecrow Press, Inc.
Lanham, Maryland • Toronto • Plymouth, UK
2008
SCARECROWPRESS, INC.
Published in the United States of America
by Scarecrow Press, Inc.
Awholly owned subsidiary of
The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc.
4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200, Lanham, Maryland 20706
www.scarecrowpress.com
Estover Road
Plymouth PL6 7PY
United Kingdom
Copyright ©2008 by Morris L. Bierbrier
All rights reserved.No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any
means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise,
without the prior permission of the publisher.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Bierbrier, M. L.
Historical dictionary of ancient Egypt / Morris L. Bierbrier. — 2nd ed.
p. cm. — (Historical dictionaries of ancient civilizations and historical eras ;
no. 22)
Previously published: 1999.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN-13: 978-0-8108-5794-0 (hardback : alk. paper)
ISBN-10: 0-8108-5794-4 (hardback : alk. paper)
eISBN-13: 978-0-8108-6250-0
eISBN-10: 0-8108-6250-6
1. Egypt—History—To 640 A.D.—Dictionaries. I. Title.
DT83.B56 2008
932.003—dc22
2008012502
∞™
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of
American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper
for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992.
Manufactured in the United States of America.
To my wife
Lydia Collins

Contents
Editor’s Foreword Jon Woronoff ix
Acknowledgments xi
Reader’s Note xiii
Map xv
Chronology xvii
Introduction xxvii
THE DICTIONARY 1
Appendixes
A Dynastic List 263
B Museums with Egyptian Collections 285
Bibliography 311
About the Author 429
vii

Editor’s Foreword
Historical Dictionary of Ancient Egyptwas the first volume in the His-
torical Dictionaries of Ancient Civilizations and Historical Eras series,
and now it is the first to be expanded and updated. This is quite fitting
because while the Egyptian civilization is not the oldest, it is certainly
the grandest. It stands out for the vast area it covered, the amazing span
of its history, and the exceptional works of art and architecture it left be-
hind. The Egyptian civilization is also one of the most topical of the an-
cient cultures, its achievements studied in classrooms around the globe,
major events—or simulations thereof—conveyed in movies and operas,
and its vestiges still visited by countless millions of people every year,
whether in present-day Egypt or dozens of museums. There are indeed
few who do not recognize the pyramids and the Sphinx, Luxor and the
Valley of the Kings, and Tutankhamun and Cleopatra.
This series of historical dictionaries, like the others, provides infor-
mation on significant people, places, and events. In this second edition,
both the old and new eras of achievement are presented. Entries provide
information on ancient kings and queens, generals and workmen, as
well as the archaeologists who brought these important figures to light
and the sites that display them. The book also covers such broader sub-
jects as art, language, and religion and aspects of architecture and his-
torical periods. The volume is supported by a chronology of key events,
an introduction that places the significant happenings in context, and
appendixes containing a dynastic list and museums with Egyptian col-
lections. The extensive bibliography, carefully structured by subject,
leads the reader to additional authoritative sources. While this second
edition resembles the first, it has been substantially expanded with
many new entries and updated with the latest research.
This second edition is written by Morris Leonard Bierbrier who,
while providing numerous fine points of Egyptology, has fashioned a
ix